Foosball World Cup for Android tries really hard to capture the magic behind getting a group of friends together to play a game of foosball. Unfortunately, that’s a recipe that’s impossible to recreate without the exact ingredients needed to create the original.

The first thing that’s wrong with this game is the controls. They’re way too sensitive and unpredictable, which is a running theme among mobile games that rely on touch controls. The mechanics are simple enough. Each row of players is controlled by swiping up and down to block or line up shops, and you flick left or right to hit the ball. Basically just like the game. The bad part is that the controls are always flipping around uncontrollably while you’re moving them up and down. This makes it really hard to line up a good shot or block one.

Secondly, playing Foosball alone on your phone is about as fun as playing Foosball alone at a regular table. There’s no trash talk or victory dances to be found. It just seems like a hollow experience. It’s a fun game in real life, but it doesn’t translate well onto a mobile platform.

Foosball World Cup tries hard to be a fun game, and has a few shallow gameplay modes to get it there, but ultimately it feels empty. Foosball is a game that’s enjoyed better when the controls are easy to manipulate, which definitely isn’t the case in this game. And without real players to compete with, it just isn’t a fun experience.